


like a brother

by synstruck



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-01-19 14:49:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1473742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synstruck/pseuds/synstruck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi’s seen the kid grow up and when Eren hits 17, he realises the kid’s pretty damn attractive, and he hates himself a little for thinking it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. keep your heart strong 'cause i'll always remember you the same

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FarmlandTensions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarmlandTensions/gifts).



> Based off FT's [big brother Levi](http://farmlandtensions.tumblr.com/post/82843439708/au-where-levi-is-mikasas-older-brother-and-eren) prompt.
> 
> I didn't even proofread this, I don't even care anymore fuck me sideways with a rusty pole, wreck my ass to bits I don't even give a shit I wrote this in like two fuckin hours piss on me

Levi Ackerman had always been protective of his little baby sister as they'd grown up, always the first to jump to her defense even though he knew full well she could hold her own in a playground spat. And despite the fact they were only three years apart in age, Mikasa could never get him to stop calling her his little baby sister.

She only pretended to hate the nickname, Levi was sure of this, and he didn't always call her that anyway. Mikasa would make a face at him if he dared to call her that in his usual deadpan that always made it sound sarcastic (it wasn't), and she'd call him a poop in return. He'd make a face right back and ask her what shitty kind of nickname that was. Either their mother would tweak his ear for his language if she was within hearing range, or the pair of them would devolve into tickle fights. Levi was ticklish. Mikasa wasn't. Levi had a height advantage. Mikasa was vertically challenged in comparison to her brother. Levi usually lost these matches.

They were close, partially out of necessity. Mikasa was quiet in school, and though cheerful and polite with people who interacted with her, was slow to properly befriend her classmates. Levi was quiet, and in contrast to his sister's politeness, the boy had a brasher, more coarse manner of speech, giving him an unapproachable air and causing people to view him as abrasive and difficult to interact with.

Mikasa and Levi understood each other's quirks and mannerisms, and once you've seen your older brother slumped over the coffee table in nothing but his boxers at five in the afternoon, drooling into a textbook, and bested him in tickle fights where he ends up red-faced, laughing and wheezing in breathlessness from being tickled halfway to death... well, then the unapproachable aura people in school pin onto him meant nothing to you.

Though they had a few friends and acquaintances in school, Levi and Mikasa were very firmly each others' best friends over their childhood years.

Until one day, when he'd picked her up from her school on his way home after class. The ten-year-old had excitedly told him about the boy who'd just moved in down the street, who was put into her class, and how she'd made friends with him today. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, lips firmly pinned up into a wide smile. Her happiness over this was palpable.

She didn't stop talking about this “Eren” during the entire ten-minute walk home.

While he was happy that his little sister had finally made a friend in class she'd really liked, a tiny niggle of jealousy nudged at his heart, whispering little seeds of doubt, words that tried to convince him that this kid would replace him in his baby sister's heart.

Levi quickly and quietly squashed the inky, dark feeling in his gut and listened to his little sister talk about her day, and about Eren.

Later that afternoon, when his mother mentioned that she'd baked a blueberry pie for the new additions to their neighbourhood, he quickly offered to take the pie down to their house after dinner for her.

He'd walked down that evening to deliver the pie, quietly but politely introducing himself to the woman who answered the door as the Ackerman's older son from up the street, and welcomed her and her family to the neighbourhood.

A head of scruffy brown hair popped up from behind the woman, who'd introduced herself as Carla Jaeger, just as Levi was handing the pie over to her. One hand was fisted in his mother's skirt and one green, green eye peered up at Levi, curiosity clear in the boy's gaze.

"Is this Eren?" he'd asked, the words coming out before he even registered thinking about it. "My sister Mikasa mentioned making friends with him in school today. Mom's a little strict about letting her out after school on weekdays, so he's welcome over to play at ours any time."

It wasn't a lie, not really. Their mother was strict about letting Mikasa out without supervision, but going to friends' places under parental supervision was fine. He just wanted to keep an eye on the two of them, to satisfy his own protective tendencies.

Carla had thanked him, and told him Mikasa was the first friend Eren had made since they moved here.

He just smiled and said that they lived up the street at number 118, and that he was always home after school so he could supervise the two of them if Eren came over to play or do homework. He then bid the both of them goodnight and returned home.

The next day, the green-eyed boy had been waiting with Mikasa when Levi made his usual side-trip to pick his sister up. The quiet boy hiding behind his mother's skirts from last night had disappeared, Eren today greeting Levi as he approached with an enthusiastic wave and a "HELLO MIKASA'S BIG BROTHER!", his eyes sparkling.

Mikasa had laughed, eyes bright as she covered her nose with her fingers and pressed both her palms to her mouth to stifle her giggles.

That marked the start of Mikasa and Eren's long friendship, and Levi's begrudging acceptance of the neighbour's son who made his quiet sister's face light up, who drew her difficult laughter out of her as easily as one could draw a swirl on a blank page.

Eren was soon over at the Ackermans' house every evening, Levi making the reluctant boy sit with Mikasa and him at the dining table to finish their homework before he'd let them play in the garden or turn on the Playstation with supervision.

Mikasa was used to asking Levi to look over her homework once she was done, to correct any mistakes she made and explain why any of her answers were wrong, but neither of them expected Eren to start asking Levi to check over his homework as well.

Eren usually didn't stay for dinner, Mrs Jaeger normally wanting him home so their family could eat together. Levi and Mikasa would walk him home, even though the Jaegers lived only two minutes down the street-- partially because Levi wanted to be responsible, and partially because Mikasa wanted to maximise her time with her new friend. Levi would walk behind them as they raced ahead on the sidewalk, hopping over every few tiles on the path, or stepping only on the ones that were red, giggling together the entire way.

It slowly became routine for Eren to follow Mikasa and Levi home in the afternoons, and both kids stopped asking Levi to check over their homework until the two of them had collectively compared their answers and discussed them, coming to Levi only once they'd finished that so he'd only have to explain anything incorrect once.

When the cold weather announcing the arrival of winter began to set in, Eren and Mikasa opted not to play in the yard as often, deciding that videogames were more interesting than having to bundle up to Levi's standards before they were allowed out. Levi himself hated the cold intensely, and would dread having to layer on clothing to keep him adequately warm so he could sit outside, freezing his ass off as he watched the kids play.

So they'd sit in the lounge, screaming at each other over Mario Kart while Levi stretched himself across the couch with a book, or spread his remaining homework across the coffee table so he could still keep an eye on them. Some days he'd quietly settle down between them with a third controller in his hands and join in.

Levi's acceptance of Eren stopped being begrudging, and he began to genuinely care for the kid just as much as he cared about his sister-- he was a good friend for her and Levi wasn't about to deny that.

Eren soon became a constant in the Ackerman household as time went by, to the point that Yui Ackerman had suggested to Carla that they leave some of Eren's clothes at their's so he could have a shower at the Ackermans' after he and Mikasa had returned from school.

Eren still returned to his home for dinner for the most part, but once a week, usually on a Friday, he'd stay for dinner at the Ackermans' before returning home after the meal. Carla didn't like him walking home alone in the dark and Yui didn't want Mikasa outside at night, so on these days it was usually only Levi walking the younger boy home.

He'd chatter nonstop at Levi the entire way, too, comfortable enough with the older boy to accept Levi's noncommittal grunts as proof he was still listening to Eren rather than as rudeness, as other people usually do.

“Hey, Levi?” Eren asked one evening, as the older boy walked him home after dinner. “Why don't you talk much about yourself? I don't really know much about you.”

The eleven-year-old's eyes were luminous in the light of the streetlamps as he looked up at Levi, trotting alongside him as they walked down to the Jaeger household. Levi spared him a glance and shrugged. Eren made a short sound of impatience.

“We've been friends for like a year and a half,” he declared. “That's like... forever.”

Levi couldn't stifle his short bark of laughter.

“No, Eren,” he corrected. “You've been Mikasa's friend for a year and a half. I've only been like... a babysitter, maybe. No, definitely a babysitter.”

Eren's face fell, and the hurt was obvious in those luminous green eyes. Guilt settled deep in Levi's gut-- he didn't mean ill at all. He sighed deeply and stopped, grabbing the boy's wrist to get him to pause too.

“Eren,” he said gently, bending slightly at the waist to look the younger boy in the eye. “I didn't mean that in a bad way, it's not like I don't want to be your friend or anything.”

“I thought we were friends, though,” Eren mumbled, hanging his head. “Because we hang out a lot.”

“We do, but I don't play with you or hang out with you the same way you hang out with Mikasa, Eren,” Levi responded, unsure of how to explain it. “It's just that I'm kind of only an add-on to your friendship with Mikasa right now-- I hang out with you guys because I'm supposed to be babysitting you guys to make sure the two of you don't get into trouble while my and Mikasa's mom and dad aren't home, just like if Mikasa was going to hang out at your house, your mom would probably want a babysitter to watch the two of you to make sure you don't get into trouble.”

He could see the furrow between Eren's eyebrows deepening. Was he getting his point across? Did he fuck his wording up bad enough that Eren is misunderstanding what he meant?

“Eren,” he tries again, clapping one hand onto the younger boy's shoulder. “I care about you, because you're Mikasa's friend and you make her happy. And that means you're not bad in my book. And you're kind of like a little brother to me anyway because I have to look after your sorry little brat ass in the afternoon almost every day and then walk you home in the evenings.” Eren smiled shakily, and the grip of fear on Levi's heart loosened slightly.

He paused, considering his next sentence. ”We can still be friends. I'll try to hang out with you guys properly a bit more, instead of only like a babysitter. Okay?”

Eren's smile was wider now, less unsure. The hurt had bled out of his green, green eyes and they sparkled with something that looked a little like relief. Levi felt the corners of his mouth twitch in a smile as the boy replied.

“... Okay, Levi.”

“Okay.”


	2. oh to feel the warmth of a smile when he said i'm happy to have you home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this. I haven't given up on it yet, I swear, I just hate writing build-up.

Eren continued to frequent the Ackerman household after school as usual, and true to his word, over the next few weeks Levi tried his best to be more involved when his little sister's best friend was around.

He made an effort to talk a little bit about his day at school when the two of them told him about theirs, as he prepared an afternoon snack for the three of them after they had all showered. He did his best to chime in a little more often as the two younger kids bantered while doing their homework, rather than just sitting silently like he normally did. He made it a point to ask if the two of them wanted to play videogames with him once they were done with their schoolwork, an action that was welcomed loudly and wholeheartedly by Mikasa and Eren as the older boy turned on the PS3.

Truth be told, it all felt a little odd to him, as if he was trying too hard, as if he were intruding on something that he shouldn't. But the light that sparked in Eren's eyes every time the kid noticed the older boy trying to be more sociable, the bright smile that stretched across Eren's face every time he noticed Levi trying to be more involved... it was worth the feeling out of place, worth the feeling awkward every time he jumped into the two younger kids' shared conversation.

So he continued to try.

He did enjoy having Eren over after school, the three of them having already comfortably settled into an unwritten routine since the Jaeger family had moved into the neighbourhood a year and a half ago. He enjoyed watching the two kids interact with each other, enjoyed seeing how much fun Mikasa was having with Eren.

The old inky twinge of insecurity from back when Mikasa had come home from school at age ten, eyes glittering in excitement about a new addition to her class... it returned when Mikasa and Eren had decided that they were each other's best friends.

It wasn't quite the same as back then, however. In the past, he didn't want to lose his precious baby sister to this strange new boy on the block.

He growled mock-warningly to the two kids approaching him with large pillows, brandishing one of his own as he puffed himself up threateningly. Mikasa went for his knees, dropping him easily onto the carpet, whereas Eren latched onto his waist and brought his pillow down onto the forearms Levi had raised defensively, the older boy's own pillow lying abandoned and forgotten.

As Levi laughed with the two of them over their joint attack, even as Eren kept whacking his pillow painlessly against Levi's outstretched arms, he thought that he was afraid now of the two of them leaving him behind. Dark fingers curled around his heart and tightened painfully, and the corner of his mouth twitched behind the cover of his arms.

Eren was family to him now, settled firmly in his heart next to Mikasa.

And his heart ached at the thought that one day, the two of them might grow apart from him and drift beyond his reach. That they would one day move on together without him.

The weather grew hotter as spring turned to summer, and before long, Eren and Mikasa had finished their primary school stretch. They would be joining Levi at his highschool in the coming fall.

“Does this mean Mikasa and me can walk with you to school next term?” Eren asked, as the three of them languished on the grass in the Ackermans' back yard, slurping lazily on ice blocks in the shade of the trees. Carla had promised to drive them to the pool after she and Grisha had finished doing the groceries, and the three of them were just whiling the time away as they waited for the Jaegers to return.

“Mm,” Levi grunted noncommitally in reply, not bothering to open his eyes or take the stick of frozen fruit juice out of his mouth to answer the younger boy properly.

“Levi leaves early because he walks to school too,” Mikasa interjected, kicking idly at Eren's left shin as she spoke between bites of her popsicle. “So you better be ready on time, or we'll leave you behind.”

“I'll be ready on time!” the green-eyed boy protested, causing the siblings to bite back snorts of laughter. Eren wasn't much of a morning person and frequently wasn't ready to leave until the last possible moment, which didn't use to matter too much when the Carla drove the two younger kids to school in the morning, but if he was to walk with Levi and Mikasa, his usual routine wasn't going to cut it.

Levi bit the tip of his ice block off and told Eren so.

The sound of a car pulling up into the driveway and the following _beep beep!_ of Carla's car horn interrupted whatever Eren was going to say. The three of them immediately leapt to their feet, running around the side of the house to grab their bags lying by the front door before piling into the car, Eren automatically sliding into the front passenger seat and the two siblings hopping into the back.

Summer passed in a blur of heat, frozen treats and afternoons at the pool, and as time went on, Levi found that he had stopped feeling awkward and out of place sticking himself into conversations between the two younger kids, Eren and Mikasa easily accepting him into the flow of their chats.

But, then again, they always had. They always asked him for his opinion if they thought he was being too quiet when Eren came over after school, always asked him to play with them after they finished their homework, always plotted mischief to get his attention if they thought he was being too distant. He thought back, and felt that he truly shouldn't have worried.

Maybe he had been too harsh when he told Eren he'd only been acting the part of a babysitter.

Soon, the end of summer came, and preparations had to be made for Mikasa and Eren to join Levi at his highschool when term started in the onset of autumn. New uniforms were bought, Eren complaining about the itchy shirt collars and about the uselessness of the boys' mandatory ties from his seat on Levi's bed as the Ackerman siblings sorted through Levi's old textbooks for Mikasa's use.

“Why do we even have to wear ties, Levi?” the brown-haired boy whined, flopping onto his back in defeat when Mikasa ignored his complaints and her older brother just snorted, lying so his head dangled off the side.

“The tie will be the least of your worries when school starts,” Levi shrugged, flipping quickly through a worn textbook and checking the list balancing on his knee before placing the book in the pile in front of Mikasa. “The blazers are mandatory to wear to and from school, I'm ready to bet that you'll be complaining about how hot it is to wear them within a week of school starting.”

“Yeah, but why doesn't Mikasa have to wear a tie?” Eren groused, undeterred. “I mean, I have to wear long pants instead of shorts, too, but she doesn't have to wear a long skirt now. It's unfair.”

“I have to wear pantyhose though,” the girl finally piped up from sorting her new textbooks and notebooks into piles by subject. “I hate pantyhose, I just want to wear socks like we used to in primary school.”

“You'll get used to it, brats,” Levi responded breezily, tossing the last two textbooks in his pile aside and marking off whatever still needed to be purchased on the list. He slid it into his pocket to pass to his mother later and stood, gathering his old unneeded textbooks up to put them back on his shelf. “I had to get used to these itchy ass uniforms three years ago, too. Suck it up.”

“Leeeeviiiiii, you're awful!”

“He's ticklish, Eren.”

“Damnit, Mikasa! I trusted you, you little shrimp.”

 


End file.
